Suspension lifted, UVM’s Wills ready to reclaim season

Catamounts guard Dre Wills (24) goes up for two during a men’s basketball game between the Marist Red Foxes and the Vermont Catamounts at Patrick Gym earlier this season. Wills returns to the lineup Monday night after serving an eight-game suspension.(Photo: BRIAN JENKINS/for the FREE PRESS)

An injury in preseason sidelined Dre Wills for the first five games of the season.

Then a mistake cost Wills eight more games in uniform for the University of Vermont men’s basketball team.

The high-energy, play-to-the-edge firestarter whom the Catamounts have sorely missed is ready to reclaim what has been, at least up until this point, a lost junior campaign.

Following a suspension worth a quarter of the regular season for breaking NCAA rules, Wills returns to the court Monday night when Vermont plays host to UMass-Lowell at Patrick Gymnasium. Tip-off is 7.

“This experience he has gone through — and we have gone through it together — is how can this turn him around and hopefully get him to really appreciate the things that he has,” UVM coach John Becker said. “We have evaluated a lot of stuff, me and him, and it was a little rocky the first couple days back, but I can say he is in a great place right now and I’m really proud of him and how he has responded to this.”

Suspended for the re-sale of academic textbooks, an impermissible benefit deemed an NCAA infraction and in violation of UVM’s student-athlete code of conduct, an apologetic Wills said the time away has proven a valuable lesson.

“Everybody makes mistakes but the biggest thing is what you do from that mistake, how you learn from that mistake, how you move on,” Wills said in his first interview since the suspension. “I think it’s going to better me on and off the court and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.”

Along with sitting out eight games, Wills was required to repay the full amount of the textbook re-sale through monetary compensation and community service.

Catamounts guard Dre Wills (24) takes a jump shot during a men’s basketball game between the Marist Red Foxes and the Vermont Catamounts at Patrick Gym earlier this season. Wills returns to the lineup Monday night after serving an eight-game suspension.(Photo: BRIAN JENKINS/for the FREE PRESS)

Local media covered the news but, given the nature of the suspension, it hit the Associated Press wire and spread nationally, with ESPN, Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports web sites picking up the story.

“That would bother anyone,” Becker said of the national headlines. “But he’s handled everything head on, accepted responsibility and he’s been proactive in everything he needs to do to be reinstated.

“He made a mistake and you are going to make mistakes in life and it’s how you respond to those things as a testament of your character.”

“No one is happier with the success we’ve had without him than Dre,” Becker said. “That’s the great thing about Dre, he feels relieved that we are right here in the hunt despite him making a mistake. He was devastated because the mistake he made had an impact on the team.”

Wills: “I definitely feel like I let my teammates down, the coaching staff down and the community as well.”

While he’s been able eligible to practice for most of the suspension period, Wills needed to refocus and refine his approach, Becker said.

“When he’s been here and not injured, he was not the same Dre that he was last year,” Becker said of practice time. “He was very inconsistent, very moody, and he is the energy of our team and the team reflected him on certain days.”

“We both have to be a lot more positive and we can have a big impact on the team if we are,” Becker said. “I have to be critical and that’s part of my job. He can be demanding of his teammates but he has to hold himself to a higher standard.

“I think he is starting to understand that and he’s been really good in practice.”

Becker admitted he made past mistakes with 2014 UVM graduate Brian Voelkel, the program’s all-time leader in career rebounds, assists and games played.

“I thought at times with Brian Voelkel I didn’t do a good enough job reigning him in,” Becker said. “And I’ve told Dre that I wasn’t going to do that with him, that I was going to challenge him every day for the whole time he was here, to know when he has gone too far or when he hasn’t.”

Wills said he has found the right temperature gauge when situations in practice heat up.

“I have a better feel for that now,” Wills said.

Becker sees it too.

“It’s an ongoing, day-to-day struggle but I can tell you the last couple weeks it hasn’t been a struggle at all and he has figured it out,” Becker said. “I really couldn’t have asked more from him — I’m proud of him. We’ve been through a lot the last month.”

And now Wills, the team’s best on-ball defender and an America East all-defensive team pick a year ago, wants to show that progress to the UVM fan base.

“I’m happy I get to play my first game at home in front of Patrick. Mentally, I have to try and take it like any other game, but I really don’t know what to expect,” Wills said. “I’m going to try and play as hard as possible and let everything else take care of itself.”

Tip-ins: Ethan O’Day’s standout performance (career highs of 24 points and six blocks, and 10 rebounds) at Hartford was noteworthy for another reason: The senior is the first UVM player to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks since Marqus Blakely (30-20-6) did so in 2008 ... The Lowell River Hawks are 6-11 overall and 2-1 in league play following a 95-89 overtime win at Maryland-Baltimore County on Saturday. UVM is 4-0 all-time vs. Lowell, which is in its third transitional year of Division I. Jahad Thomas leads Lowell in scoring (13.0), rebounding (7.1) and assists (3.8).

This story was originally published on Jan. 17, 2016. Contact Alex Abrami at 660-1848 or aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aabrami5